


Sun and Moon

by MidnightMuse234



Category: Bleach
Genre: HichiIchi Week 2019, HichiIchi Week Day 2, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-14 16:38:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21018905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightMuse234/pseuds/MidnightMuse234
Summary: The sun burns hot and the moon is dark and cold. The sun is the centre of our galaxy while the moon merely flows with the Earth. Without the sun, the moon cannot shine. But without both, the world would never be the same. / Ichigo, enraged, enters his Inner World, looking for the only person he could fight to relieve some of his anger.





	Sun and Moon

Ichigo shook with rage, his hands tightly balled into fists to the point that his knuckles had turned white.

"Are you alright?" Old Man Zangetsu asked.

Ichigo was expecting this question when he entered his inner world, but all the same, he didn't want to answer. "No."

The old man frowned, and the look stung Ichigo with guilt just like he knew it would, which was why Old Man Zangetsu wasn't who Ichigo was looking for today.

The Old Man didn't deserve his rage. No one really did, but if he didn't find a way to calm down, then Ichigo was certain that he was going to rush after the bastards who hurt his sister and beat the first poor soul he found into a bloody pulp.

He flinched at the thought. That wasn't him. _This_ wasn't him. He refused to let rage consume him and hurt those around him.

So he knew he had no choice except to turn to the one person that could keep up with him in this state. The person who claimed to be the embodiment of Ichigo’s darkest instincts: his Inner Hollow.

"What are you doing here?" Old Man Zangetsu pressed.

Ichigo turned a sad frown towards the man. He supposed he could fight his Zanpakuto - Zangetsu would be strong enough to handle him… but Zangetsu didn't deserve his anger, and Ichigo wouldn’t be able to bring himself to fight at the level he needed to in order to get his anger out.

Not that Shiro really deserved his anger either, but he would be easier to fight, Ichigo wouldn't feel as guilty… _no_, Ichigo would definitely feel guilty afterwards, but the Hollow would urge him on in the meantime just enough to make Ichigo forget about holding back. That’s what he needed: to completely let loose.

His inner world was scorching today. He knew it must've been tied to his anger. The air rippled from the heat, and the sun was almost too bright to look at.

“Ichigo, I’ll ask you one more time-”

“Step aside, Zangetsu, _please,_” Ichigo begged.

Zangetsu frowned. “Why are you here?”

Ichigo sighed and glanced around his inner world. “I’m here to fight,” he simply said.

Zangetsu straightened his posture. “You never come here to fight.”

“I know…” Ichigo sighed.

“And you’re not here to spar?”

Ichigo blinked.

The old man held his curious and somewhat disappointed expression. “You said you were to fight, not spar. There is a difference, Ichigo.”

“What do you mean?”

“To spar is merely training, but I can tell from the emotions burning through your inner world right now that you’re not looking to train. Allow me to warn you, Ichigo, drawing your sword with the intention to harm is not the action of a protector.”

Zangetsu’s words, though wise, only served to further ignite the anger burning in Ichigo’s chest. He spoke with a growl, “Don’t you think I know that!? That’s why I’m here. I don’t want anyone to see me like this. This isn’t who I am.”

“Then relax.”

Ichigo grabbed his sword and plunged it into the skyscraper beneath him. “Don’t you think that if I could relax, then I would have done that already!? Can’t you see what I see outside? You saw what those bastards did! And I’m doing…” Ichigo gulped, unsure if he really wanted to admit this or not. In the end, he decided it was the only way to plead his case to Zangetsu. “I’m doing everything I can right now to stop myself from chasing after them. They don’t have powers like me… it wouldn’t be fair. I’d…”

“You’d what?” Zangetsu pressed. “Kill them?”

Ichigo flinched at the word ‘kill’. “No, I would never do that! But... me going after them would be worse than killing them.”

Zangetsu sighed, and the world descended into silence, other than the wind.

Ichigo removed his sword from the building beneath him and then slowly dropped to his knees. He was still shaking with rage. He needed to release this energy before it tore its way out of him, but if Zangetsu wouldn’t help him, then what could he do? He couldn’t summon Shiro, at least, Ichigo didn’t think he could.

Then something caught his eye. Where he had stabbed into the skyscraper, and where there should have been rubble from the building, was instead something orange. Where there should have been a hole instead looked like a crack in a mirror. And in this mirror was an inverted version of Ichigo’s inner world.

Ichigo raised his Zanpakuto and thrust it into the ground again.

Zangetsu’s eyes widened. “Ichigo, what are you doing!?”

Ichigo ignored him, placing his sword on his back and using his hands to tear open the crack he’d made in the world.

"Ichigo, you mustn't go to him!"

But Ichigo’s ears had become deaf to reason. He dove into the inverted world, landing on an orange skyscraper. When Ichigo turned to look back at the crack, he watched as it sealed itself up.

Ichigo knew that should worry him, that perhaps he had just made a huge mistake, but he only felt satisfied. This inverted world was oozing with Hollow spiritual pressure. He knew that Shirosaki wasn’t too far away, and therefore his goal was within reach.

This world was much colder than Ichigo’s. It didn’t simmer with his rage, but instead, it was almost cold enough for Ichigo to see his breath. It reminded Ichigo of Hueco Mundo, especially with the moon sitting high in an endless black sky.

Ichigo took a few steps and heard the sound echo. This world was also much quieter than his own - there was no wind or any signs of life.

A ping of sadness struck Ichigo’s heart. He wondered if Shiro felt as isolated as Ichigo felt now. It was so quiet and still like there was no one else here. Except, Ichigo knew that Shiro was somewhere in this world, but Shiro never had Ichigo around. That only saddened Ichigo more.

Ichigo kept walking. He lept from skyscraper to skyscraper, looking for any sign of white on the orange and black buildings. Eventually, Ichigo came to a tower that looked nothing like any of the skyscrapers around it.

The tower was made entirely of gray stone. It had large, slightly-tinted-red windows. It was then that Ichigo noticed the moon only reflected in the red windows, not at all in the skyscrapers. The windows on the skyscrapers were only black. They didn’t even reflect Ichigo’s face back at him.

This world was cold and empty, but Ichigo also found it somewhat beautiful in its own eerie way. He chuckled: this world was most certainly Shiro’s home.

“Well, well, well, look who decided to come for a visit,” Ichigo heard Shiro speak before he spotted him sitting on the edge of a balcony. “And to what do I owe the pleasure of his majesty gracing me with his presence?”

Ichigo couldn’t help but smirk. He found it funny that Shiro was referring to him as ‘majesty’ when it was Shiro himself who looked like royalty sitting up in his castle. He sat - or rather, he was almost laying down - on the railing of the balcony. He had one arm hanging loosely over the side of the railing, his sword hanging from the black bandages Shiro held in his hand.

“I’ve come to ask for a favour,” Ichigo replied.

Shiro quirked a brow. “A favour?” He sat up, yanking on the bandages around his sword and catching the hilt, all in one swift motion. “And what could I possibly do to help you?”

Ichigo didn’t miss the bitterness in Shiro’s voice. He phrased his next sentence carefully, “Well, it’s not exactly a favour. I’m just here to see if you’d like to fight.”

Shiro’s lips twitched into a smirk. “You want to fight me, hmm, King? Are you sure about that?”

“Positive,” Ichigo answered, determined. He drew his sword.

Shiro snickered. “And what if I refuse?”

Ichigo was stopped dead in his tracks. He never expected Shiro to actually refuse a chance to fight him. It just didn’t seem like something he’d do.

“A-Are you refusing?” Ichigo sputtered out in question.

Shiro cackled and shoved himself off the balcony. He landed gracefully on his feet. He swung his sword in his hand, slowly, back and forth like a pendulum in a clock. “That’s not what I said, King. I asked you what would you do if I refuse?”

Ichigo tried to read Shiro, searching for an ulterior motive in his question.

“Why don’t you just tell me what you mean?” Ichigo questioned. “Is this one of your riddles?”

Shiro chuckled. “Aww, King, but where would be the fun in just tellin’ ya what I mean when you could guess? You’ve got brains. You can figure it out.”

Ichigo scowled and pointed his sword at Shiro. “Are you going to fight me, or not?”

Shiro shook his head, his lips shifting into a disappointed scowl. “Nah. I’m not gonna fight ya. I don’t feel like it.” Shiro turned away from Ichigo and placed his sword on his back. He hummed as he moved towards the doors of the tower.

Ichigo inhaled sharply, his anger reaching the boiling point. He rushed towards Shiro with a growl and swung his sword in a diagonal motion. Shiro spun around, meeting Ichigo’s blade with his own. If this was anyone else, Ichigo would have been surprised by Shiro’s reaction time.

“Why the hell not!?” Ichigo snapped.

Shiro chuckled and pushed Ichigo back a meter or two. “Did you just attack someone with their guard down?”

“Don’t insult me, Shiro,” Ichigo spat. “You didn’t drop your guard, not for a second. Your hand didn’t even leave your sword.”

Shiro cackled. “So, you’re not as dumb as you look. Gonna answer my question now?”

“You…” Ichigo suddenly felt numb as it dawned on him. “You… knew I would attack you even if you said no?”

Shiro tilted his head, a crooked smile on his lips. “Why so shocked, King? After all, I know ya better than anyone.”

Ichigo’s grip tightened on his sword, and he could feel sweat clinging to the back of his neck. “You’re wrong. You don’t know me.”

Shiro rolled his eyes. “Don’t insult me, King. You and I are more alike than you think. You know why you came to me? Truly? Because I already know your little secret. You _like_ the rage."

Ichigo gulped. “No, I don’t-”

Shiro cut off Ichigo’s denial with a loud laugh. “Oh, yes you do! You could have cooled off in any number of ways. You could have showered, read a book, took a nap… but no, you came all the way to this world just to fight little ol’ me. You wanted that rage to boil over.”

Ichigo fell into silence.

“You wanted to let your anger control you. It’s the same reason that humans break things when they’re upset. But if you let your anger out in the real world, people would see what you really are…”

“Shut up.”

“You’re a monster, King.”

“Shut the hell up! That’s not me! _You’re_ the monster!”

"It's easy to blame me, huh?" Shiro cackled. "It's easy to say that all your rage and hate is my doing, that you wouldn't dare strike someone for some reason other than to protect your loved ones, right? But here's what you fail to grasp: I am you. I don't exist if you don't exist. Don't you get it?"

“I said shut up!” Ichigo roared and rushed towards Shiro again.

Shiro cackled and met Ichigo’s blade with his own. He struck Ichigo’s sword with twice the force Ichigo had and sent Ichigo’s blade flying from his hand. Before Ichigo could recover his sword, Shiro threw his blade into the skyscraper in front of Ichigo to block his path.

Shiro ran at Ichigo and knocked him onto the ground. He pinned Ichigo against the orange building and grabbed Ichigo’s wrists.

“Get off of me!” Ichigo shouted.

Shiro grinned in his face. He remained still as Ichigo’s spiritual pressure lashed out around them. Shiro shook his head, “Oh, King… You’re such a fool.”

Ichigo struggled to break free, glaring murder at his Inner Hollow. “Shiro, I swear to-”

“Shut up, Ichigo.”

Ichigo flinched and went silent. His name combined with Shiro’s tone (which had shifted from amusement to anger) stunned him into silence.

“Now relax,” Shiro’s tone softened, if only a bit. “Yer gonna get yourself killed if you keep raging like this. It isn’t becoming of a King, but more like a spoiled brat.”

Ichigo opened his mouth to speak, but Shiro cut him off.

“You don’t get to barge in here and demand that I deal with your temper tantrum. I get it, some humans hurt your sister and you're pissed. And you’re not satisfied with just telling them off but that’s all you can do. Your human world has laws that you have to follow, and you have morals that you can’t break. So, your next logical step was to find someone that you can fight and blow off some steam. Then you realized that your anger was too strong to shove on your friends, so you came to me, thinking that I’d be more than thrilled to fight you just because you asked. You didn’t expect me to question you. That about sum things up?”

Ichigo blinked and released a small sigh. “Yeah,” he huffed, “that about sums things up.”

Shiro chuckled. He loosened his grip on Ichigo’s wrists, but he didn’t let go. “Shoulda just been honest with me, King. You can’t hide shit from me, even if you want to.”

“I didn’t think I’d have to explain anything to you.”

Shiro’s grip tightened on Ichigo’s wrists again. “I’m not a tool you get to use, Ichigo. You should know better than that.”

“You’re right…” Ichigo admitted. “I’m sorry.”

Shiro’s grin widened, and he finally released Ichigo’s arms. He slid a hand over one side of Ichigo’s face and through his hair before he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Ichigo’s forehead. “I thought I meant more to you than that.”

“I already said I’m sorry…”

Shiro snickered and placed kisses down Ichigo’s neck. “Mhm…” He moved his lips to Ichigo’s ear. “But maybe I oughta remind you anyways…”

Ichigo shivered, and Shiro considered that a victory. He sealed his lips over Ichigo’s. Shiro didn’t give Ichigo a chance to fight for dominance, sliding his tongue between Ichigo’s lips before Ichigo could react.

Shiro heard Ichigo groan, and Shiro could feel the vibrations as he gently squeezed Ichigo’s neck. Shiro leaned back, a string of saliva connecting his and Ichigo’s lips. He chuckled at the flushed look on Ichigo’s face. “Feel better?”

Ichigo panted. “Fuck you.”

Shiro laughed and climbed to his feet. He retrieved his sword from the skyscraper and stepped back from Ichigo. “Alright, grab yer sword. Now I’ll fight ya.”

Ichigo groaned, this time from annoyance, and tried to ignore the pinpricks of arousal spreading across his body. Of course, now Shiro wanted to fight. But Ichigo climbed to his feet and grabbed his sword anyways.

He did feel better, actually. Now he met Shiro’s grin with a smirk of his own as their swords struck.


End file.
